Photo: Kia
Replacing the Borrego in the United States, the Kia Telluride is a three-row crossover that’s been highly popular since its launch for the 2020 model year. It finished 2022 third in the ranking, with deliveries totaling 99,891 units compared to 108k for the Forte and 125k for the Sportage.
Twinned with the Hyundai Palisade but manufactured in the United States rather than South Korea, the Kia-branded sibling has been called back over a manufacturing error that causes the second-row side airbags to deactivate or deploy incorrectly. Kia North America received a case report from a dealer on December 27th, 2022 involving damage to the side airbag wire harness. The dealer noted contact with the Telluride’s second-row seat frame, thus resulting in the illumination of the airbag warning light.
In the early days of January, right after everyone got back to work, the suits at Kia North America informed Kia Georgia of the incident. They also requested the assembly plant to investigate. During said investigation, the safety boffins at Kia Georgia issued a stop-ship order out of an abundance of caution. They’ve inspected no fewer than 2,219 vehicles produced for the 2023 model year, of which 20 exhibited wire harness contact with the second-row seat frame. No damage was identified. In time, however, those airbag harnesses will definitely become damaged.
After conducting a field data analysis that resulted in no complaints or techline reports other than the one from December 2022, the U.S. division requested the mothership in South Korea to evaluate this concern. Not exactly a surprising outcome, Kia Corporation told Kia North America that a damaged wire harness leads to the improper deployment of the second-row side airbags. The worst-case scenario is no deployment at all.
In light of this information, the peeps at Kia North America didn’t really have a choice but to recall nearly 32,000 units of the 2023 model year Telluride. Those 31,943 vehicles were manufactured in the period between September 1st, 2022 and January 23rd, 2023 as per documents filed with the federal watchdog. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was informed that dealers would be notified of the recall on February 23rd, with owners to follow suit no later than February 28th.
Attached below, the part 573 safety recall report highlights that the supplier is blamed for producing shorter-than-required wire harnesses. The supplier in question is Adient, headquartered in West Point where Kia makes the Telluride. No fewer than five part numbers are listed, three for the left-hand side and two for the right-hand side. Of course, the remedy component that dealers will install is manufactured with the proper length.
One of the segment’s most successful crossover, the mid-size Telluride offers up to eight seats and no fewer than 17 standard driver assistance features. Equipped with a naturally-aspirated V6 and eight-speed automatic transmission across the board, the family-hauling Telluride is currently priced at $35,890 before the $1,365 destination freight charge.
In the early days of January, right after everyone got back to work, the suits at Kia North America informed Kia Georgia of the incident. They also requested the assembly plant to investigate. During said investigation, the safety boffins at Kia Georgia issued a stop-ship order out of an abundance of caution. They’ve inspected no fewer than 2,219 vehicles produced for the 2023 model year, of which 20 exhibited wire harness contact with the second-row seat frame. No damage was identified. In time, however, those airbag harnesses will definitely become damaged.
After conducting a field data analysis that resulted in no complaints or techline reports other than the one from December 2022, the U.S. division requested the mothership in South Korea to evaluate this concern. Not exactly a surprising outcome, Kia Corporation told Kia North America that a damaged wire harness leads to the improper deployment of the second-row side airbags. The worst-case scenario is no deployment at all.
In light of this information, the peeps at Kia North America didn’t really have a choice but to recall nearly 32,000 units of the 2023 model year Telluride. Those 31,943 vehicles were manufactured in the period between September 1st, 2022 and January 23rd, 2023 as per documents filed with the federal watchdog. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was informed that dealers would be notified of the recall on February 23rd, with owners to follow suit no later than February 28th.
Attached below, the part 573 safety recall report highlights that the supplier is blamed for producing shorter-than-required wire harnesses. The supplier in question is Adient, headquartered in West Point where Kia makes the Telluride. No fewer than five part numbers are listed, three for the left-hand side and two for the right-hand side. Of course, the remedy component that dealers will install is manufactured with the proper length.
One of the segment’s most successful crossover, the mid-size Telluride offers up to eight seats and no fewer than 17 standard driver assistance features. Equipped with a naturally-aspirated V6 and eight-speed automatic transmission across the board, the family-hauling Telluride is currently priced at $35,890 before the $1,365 destination freight charge.
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